Game 3 of the NLCS is now through four innings. Chicago Cubs started working counts earlier. Has it paid off?
Third Inning
More of the same for the Chicago Cubs. Jake Arrieta and Dexter Fowler both took quick seats. Kris Bryant singled up the middle but was forced out on a Ben Zobrist grounder.
The bottom of the third opened the scoring for the game. Andrew Toles fought off an inside fastball to left field. He was moved to second by Rich Hill, and scored on a Corey Seager‘s second hit of the game. Arrieta struck out Justin Turner to finish the inning.
A missed strike call, so it appears, helped Seager.
Fourth Inning
After drawing a walk in the second inning, Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo let a 3-0 count get to a full count. He promptly flew out to right field. At this point, he is 0-9 in the NLCS. Baez popped out. Soler went down looking.
The Dodgers started making better contact on Arrieta. Gonzalez laced a ball right into the glove of Soler in right. Josh Reddick then grounded ball that flew out of Arrieta’s glove to Baez, but no play could be made. Reddick was safe at first and stole second. And third. And scored on a two-run homer by Yasmani Grandal. He fought off several two-strike pitches from Arrieta. A fly-out ended the fourth.
Cubs have work to do.